VIVA Cruises Announces Four European Christmas Market Itineraries
The 112-passenger VIVA Beyond visits Paris, Les Andelys, Rouen and Conflans, with Rouen serving as the Seine route’s main festive stop outside the capital.
VIVA Cruises is promoting four Christmas-market itineraries on the Rhine, Danube and Seine for December travel. The seasonal sailings combine market visits with historic towns, regional food and local holiday traditions.
The selection includes a short Rhine escape and a Danube route connecting six cities. VIVA’s Christmas-market announcement did not provide specific departure dates or starting fares.
Four routes through Europe’s Christmas markets
The 176-passenger VIVA One operates “Christmas Market Spree” round-trip from Düsseldorf, calling at Bonn, Mainz and Koblenz. Passengers can shop for handcrafted gifts in historic town squares, sample seasonal specialties and visit stalls serving mulled wine.
Also on the Rhine, “The Advent on the Rhine” aboard the 176-passenger VIVA Moments includes Strasbourg, Rüdesheim and Königswinter. Strasbourg’s half-timbered streets and cathedral feature alongside a scenic passage through the vineyard-lined Middle Rhine.
On the Danube, the 190-passenger VIVA Enjoy operates “Danube Christmas Tales,” connecting Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Melk, Bratislava and Vienna. The itinerary explores regional Advent customs, with experiences ranging from palace-courtyard markets in Bavaria to gingerbread in Austria. Vienna’s City Hall Square festivities are among the attractions featured on the route.
The Seine offering, “Winter Wonderland on the Seine,” combines Paris with Les Andelys, Rouen and Conflans aboard the 112-passenger VIVA Beyond. Rouen, with its Christmas market and half-timbered old town, is the route’s main festive stop outside the French capital. The itinerary also includes village visits and French history, plus time for Parisian cafés.
VIVA’s 10th-anniversary season in 2028
Separately, VIVA has announced a 2028 program of 325 sailings across seven ships for its 10th anniversary. That schedule covers the Rhine, Main, Moselle, Danube and Douro, as well as German canals and the Baltic coast.
Nasim Ghannadian, VIVA Cruises’ vice president of sales and marketing for North America, said the season would offer “more itineraries, expanded departures and unique onboard experiences.”
VIVA Moments will move to the Danube fleet after an extensive renovation in 2027, sailing seven-night itineraries between Passau, Vienna and Budapest. VIVA Enjoy will operate 22 seven-night departures round-trip from Vienna, with Regensburg added as another turnaround port.
VIVA One’s 2028 schedule adds four-night Rhine cruises. Those new departures are scheduled for November and December.
